Principal's News
During the week at our staff meeting, I mentioned to the staff that this has been probably the most challenging period that I have ever experienced in education. We are all looking forward to Friday afternoon and will look back on what we have organised and achieved.
Term 3 started with four days of school, before we were thrown into lockdown, for another eight school days. We then returned to school for a further seven days of school and have now been away for the remainder of the term.
I can only admire and thank the children for their engagement in remote learning and the great support that our parents and carers provided. I am sure it was different in each and every one of your homes and that there were probably times of frustration, but also wonder and awe about how our children learn and engage. We have all adapted to the topsy turvy term. Three cheers to all, children and parents, for creating suitable remote home learning spaces.
Our teachers have been wonderful. They have navigated the challenges of not being present in our natural way of teaching and learning (face to face with the children), and have continued to create learning experiences to ensure that children maintain their growth and development, and built connected communities of relationship with and amongst their classmates.
To be a worker, a parent and a teacher whilst juggling the demands of home life plus supporting your childrens’ education, has been phenomenal. Many thanks.
Hopefully we are all back to school at the start of Term 4 or in the early weeks of October.
Prayer
The prayer today is the choir singing 'Let It Be', which will be shown at Assembly tomorrow. Please take a moment to watch the children singing and reflect on how we have managed through this period, and thank our God for the unified way that we have come together this term.
When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree
There will be an answer, let it be
For though they may be parted, there is still a chance that they will see
There will be an answer, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
There will be an answer, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be, be
And when the night is cloudy there is still a light that shines on me
Shinin' until tomorrow, let it be
I wake up to the sound of music, Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
And let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
And let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
100 days of Prep
Today we celebrate 100 days of Prep and haven’t the children aged and grown. Check out some of these photos. Miss Stella and Miss Tilly joined Ange and I for a cuppa this morning and invited us along for a Bridge game tonight at the Senior Citzs. Miss Lidia was just out from the hair set machine, with her hair still in rollers in preparation for the same event this evening.
Well done to all the Prep children and to Miss Tierney and Miss Capomolla. A different 100 days this year. The costumes of all our old people today were fantastic and a great celebration before the holidays.
Good News Gossip
There has been a great deal of commentary about learning in the media recently with the effect of Remote learning. At St James we are continually focussed on growth and progress and not necessarily on a score. The score does not define our children. We are a data inspired school and use multiple data points to gain clarity and understanding of growth and ‘what’s next’. NAPLAN is only one data source that we use. Parents in Year 3 and 5 would have received their child’s NAPLAN scores this week.
I have also included some Good News Gossip that parents would be interested in.
1. Historical NAPLAN Comparisons - 5 year mean
2. NAPLAN Summary 2021
3. PAT Reading 2020 percentage score for ST James Year 6 students
With the support of Stephen from Russell Education, we have some initial data which is assisting our school in preparation for strategic planning for 2022 School Review and our next School improvement Planning SIP 2022 -2025.
The information is an affirmation that what we do is very good. We are mindful that there are some areas that we do need to seek improvement. This is where the data profile of many data sources and our Assessment Schedule will create a data story that will shine a light on addressing and extending our results, for further growth and progress.
Faith in our Future
Enjoy the holidays
Brendan Flanagan
Principal